Archive for Thomas Edison

Many know Thomas Edisonas an inventor that included such diverse devices as the phonograph, the motion picture camera that impacted movie-making; and his well known electric light bulb. He was credited with owning over 1093 patents.

Despite being credited with sound recording inventions, Edison acknowledged that he was deaf from the age of twelve years old. Some writings claim that his loss of hearing came from a bout of scarlet fever. He would tell others that it was caused while trying to board a train in Michigan.

Supposedly, the conductor for some reason, took hold of his ears to help pull up the steps to board the train. “I felt something snap inside my head”, Edison later said. ”My deafness started from that time and has progressed ever since.”

With all that he invented, it’s a bit surprising that he did not invent a hearing aid. He was rumored to have claimed that he actually felt that he benefited from his disability because it allowed him to have greater personal focus. He once told a group of 300 hard-of-hearing adults that, “Deaf people [like himself] should take to reading. It beats the babble of ordinary conversation.”

Since I have added our DID YOU KNOW section to the blog, I have received many emails from people to tell me that they enjoy the addition. In almost all of the entries, I didn’t know either. Sometimes, I will find some fact that will lead me on an Internet chase for more information. Soon, I look up and realize that I have very few words on the actual blog.

This has caused me to collect a few “Did you know?’ tidbits for future blogs. So, I thought that a few would make for a blog entirety. So, here goes:

DID YOU KNOW that Thomas Edison, credited with inventing the light bulb, was afraid of the dark? At the time of his death, all the lights were on in his house.

DID YOU KNOW that the IRS admits that approximately one in four people who call their helpline, get the wrong answer to their question?

And finally, DID YOU KNOW that during President Bill Clinton’s presidency, he only sent two emails. One was an email to John Glenn when he was aboard the space shuttle. The other email… to test the email system!

Just because you were born on third base doesn’t mean that you have hit a triple in life. As you read this blog, you will see the reminder that we have been given into “What makes the difference”.

I have never understood why a person feels like they need to “Twitter” an update on everything that is going on in their life; But, I guess, I don’t understand why people subscribe to read such information. It has taken reality TV to our cellphones.

The following provides a comparison of two basketball players. In their own words, we see the meat and potatoes of what makes one a success and the other, a failure.

For ESPN. com, Bill Simmons provided the following in his mailbag. It came as a Twitter from one of his readers:

Can you tell which one of those No. 2 overall draft picks just spent time in the D League?”
— Brian Seboly, Memphis, Tenn.

Both had successful college careers. If you clicked on the attachments, you can see that both players had high expectations coming into the National Basketball Association. They both signed significant financial contracts before ever playing an NBA game.

Kevin Durant was drafted #2 in 2007 by the NBA Seattle Supersonics. That year, he won rookie of the year. Last year, he set a modern day NBA record for most 25 point games in a row. He is 6ft, 9 inches tall.

Hasheem Thabeet was drafted 2nd overall by the Memphis Grizzlies in the 2009 draft. He played very little last year, and as an answer to the above posted Tweet question , he was sent down to the minors because of his ineffectiveness in the NBA. Thabeet is 7ft, 3 inches tall.

In basketball, they always say that you can coach skills but you can’t teach height. You either have it or you don’t. Thabeet has an advantage over most NBA players. The rest is up to him. Based on his Tweet, he apparently was not disappointed by his by his lack of success in his rookie season. In fact, there is nothing to suggest that his next season will be any improvement.

Kevin Durant is not as tall as Thabeet but has a great deal of skill as well. You don’t get drafted in the first round of the NBA draft, if you aren’t already blessed with talent. However, if you track Durant’s career to date, you can already see tremendous improvement over his rookie year.

The story of these two players in their own words is a reminder to me. In the practice of law, there are a lot of good lawyers. What makes an effective lawyer? No matter the business, we are all in competition. Even when someone has more ability, what is the life lesson through the tweets of these two basketball players?

Do you remember Thomas Edison? Thomas Edison is known for his genius and his inventions. His inventions included the motion picture camera and the light bulb. He was also the founder of that little company, known as General Electric. In fact, he was so creative that he was granted 1093 patents for his inventions. So tell us Mr Edison, what lesson are we to learn from this tweet? Why is the 6 ft 9 inch player better than someone so much taller?

To that, Edison would remind us about what kept him going, “Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety nine percent perspiration. The meat and potatoes of success.

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